great question...
if we look at this from a quantum level, i.e., looking at one unit of consciousness, it might make the answer a little easier to come by. Now since quantum consciousness is probably not a very widely studied and maybe not accepted methodology, you may not agree with the method I put forward from my studies, so please I encourage you to study your consciousness and devise a system that makes sense to you. (note that most of this comes out my buddhist studies, where units of consciousness have been analyzed in great detail over the many years).
I think of consciousness as being awareness.. awareness of vision (eye consciousness), awareness of thought (mind or thought consciousness), etc for each of the 6 sensory organs... in other words, each has a perception and a corresponding awareness of that perception (i.e, consciousness).
Now thought might be a little tricker at first, so let me try to explain with visual perception by describing a unit of visual consciousness.
First something comes in contact with our eye, inducing an image in the brain...
Now, this image in our brain causes a differentiation of energy to visual consciousness (yes consciousness is energy). When this visual consciousness manifests, along with it a self manifests that will perceive the image.
Now, the consciousness and self being born, the image is received from the brain.
The self in the visual consciousness then scans through the memory in the brain and identifies the object. (identifies the perception).
According to this identification, a feeling can be perceived by the self in the visual consciousness.
Depending on the feeling, volition might be experienced by this self. Here is might gather more energy and divert energy to act.
The self then registers the event to the memory in the brain.
After this, the visual consciousness and self in it, leave the body and exists in association as a "thought force." Accumulation of these "thought forces" are what form our subconscious.
This is the end of the cycle... the body undergoes changes too during the cycle (movement of blood, energy, respiration etc), and at the end is replenished and ready for the next cycle.
We can maybe think of these cycles as units of life, because really thinking about it, life is an uninterrupted flow of these cycles.
We can repeat and map out a unit for any of the other sensory perceptions, including thought... So if we go back to the question, "would the meaning of words derive from an interpretation of the mind, or an innate sense of meaning in the consciousness itself?"
The meaning of the words come from the memory of the brain, which scanned by the self in the consciousness. The interpretation really comes from memory, which then causes feelings and actions in the self before the cycle ends.
On a larger scale, this stream of consciousness containing selves gives us the illusion of a permanent unchanging Self that resides in this body. This is further perpetuated because when one cycle ends and another begins, the image of the previous self is still present in memory, which the memory interprets and projects as an unchanging Self. (the reason it is still present might be because the nerve impulse lasts longer than the cycle does) And this is what we become, ourselves, an unchanging Self, but this Self we become is actually a memory projection.
If we break the illusion of our Self, and look at the flow of these units, we can conclude that we have no Self, and there is no-one in this body to perceive. There is only perception. And there is no thinker; only the thinking exists.
I'm not sure I really approached the question.
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